'Lolo Show' Helping Make Grand Haven Softball Must-See During Program's Record Run
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
June 11, 2026
MOUNT PLEASANT – “The Lolo Show” continues to produce one exciting, dramatic episode after another.
In the latest installment Tuesday at Central Michigan University, Grand Haven senior pitcher Lorelei “Lolo” Chciuk did it with her bat – ripping a bases-loaded double in the top of the 10th inning to lift the Buccaneers to a 5-1 victory over Traverse City Central in a Division 1 Quarterfinal showdown at Margo Jonker Stadium.
“Lo is the star of the show, but everybody plays a role,” said 10th-year Grand Haven coach John Hall. “This was her moment at the plate. She saw the opportunity and went after it.
“That ball was absolutely rocked.”
Grand Haven (33-7-1) hopes to produce two more episodes, starting with Thursday’s 10 a.m. opening Division 1 Semifinal against Macomb Dakota – which will extend already the deepest run in school history.
Chciuk (which rhymes with shook) will be there in her lead role on the rubber, where she has piled up more than 1,000 career strikeouts.
This season, she has simply overpowered a difficult Ottawa-Kent Conference Red and nonconference schedule, with 357 strikeouts over 167 innings pitched – an average of 2.14 strikeouts per inning. She has a 19-5 record and 0.92 ERA.
“We have a bunch of seniors, and we want to keep it going,” explained Chciuk, who has a very capable No. 2 pitcher behind her in senior shortstop Bri Borgman. “Our saying right now is: Don’t think, just do.”
Chciuk has really upped her play to another level during the past three games, or episodes, if you will.
In the Regional Semifinal on June 6, Haven fell behind Rockford 4-0 in the first inning. Chciuk then came on in relief and shut down the Rams the rest of the way, striking out 14 as the Bucs rallied for a 10-4 win.
That set up the dramatic Regional Final against top-ranked and longtime nemesis Hudsonville, where Chciuk threw a no-hitter and struck out 10 more batters in a 3-1 upset win.
“My rise ball has been really good lately, and that really gives me confidence,” said Chciuk, the daughter of Harry and Amanda Chciuk. “I absolutely love my rise ball right now, and it’s getting a lot of people out.”
Chciuk certainly throws hard, with a fastball that tops out around 65 mph, but what makes her so difficult for batters to figure out is the way all of her pitches move. In addition to the fastball, she also throws a rise ball, changeup and curveball.
She is also very quick to deflect credit to her teammates, particularly the other two big bats at the top of the order in leadoff hitter Borgman and No. 2 hitter and senior catcher Bella Korf.
Borgman leads the team with a .487 average, with eight home runs, 15 doubles and 39 RBI (along with an 11-1 pitching record and 2.16 ERA). Korf is right behind her in the lineup and in batting average at .444, with team highs in home runs (10) and RBI (41).
“We’ve all come together closer and closer this season,” explained Chciuk. “There’s girls in the dugout whose role is to keep the energy up and to be ready, and there’s girls who are just trying to get on base to get things going. It takes all of us, especially right now.”
Those three are the leaders of a veteran team, which has used its age and experience to win one close game after another all season. Other seniors are centerfielder Claire Sova, third baseman Rheagan Cobb, second baseman Natalie Waite, McKayla Goossen and Paige Sitzer.
The Buccaneers, who avenged earlier losses to Rockford, Hudsonville and Traverse City Central over the past three games of this playoff run, are adding to a breakthrough spring sports season for Grand Haven – which is best known for its sandy beaches, picturesque boardwalk and annual Coast Guard Festival.
Haven won the inaugural Division 1 boys volleyball title last weekend, finished fifth and 13th, respectively, at the boys and girls Track & Field Finals, and celebrated a national title in the pole vault by senior Izzy Robbins.
Now the softball team is playing much later into June than expected.
“We were supposed to have our end-of-year banquet on Wednesday night, but we had to postpone that,” said Hall, who is assisted by Jamie Burton, Geoff Franz and Ben Korf. “This team is knocking down walls and breaking through ceilings that Grand Haven has never done before.”
After this weekend, both Chciuk and Borgman (a Ferris State commit) will play in the State Champs/Turnin’ 2 all-star game on June 15 at the University of Michigan’s Alumni Field.
Then Chciuk will be taking her show on the road to Saginaw Valley State, where the 3.53 GPA-student plans to pursue a pre-veterinary career path, majoring in cellular and molecular biology.
But that was the last thing on her mind after Tuesday’s thrilling extra-innings win.
“Right now, I just want to sleep,” said Chciuk, who pitched all 10 innings in Tuesday’s win, in addition to delivering the decisive blow at the plate. “We talk about making memories and making core memories.
“This win today was huge because it means that Grand Haven softball is going to MSU for the first time ever. Yeah, this is definitely a core memory that will stay with me forever.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Lorelei Chciuk makes her move toward the plate during Tuesday's Quarterfinal win at CMU. (Middle) Chciuk, right, has led Grand Haven on its deepest MHSAA Tournament run. (Photos by Josh Walters/Local Sports Journal.)
Pallozzi Seeking to Add Memorable Finish to Unforgettable Start as Mercy's Ace
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
April 3, 2025
FARMINGTON HILLS — Three years ago at about this time, Farmington Hills Mercy softball coach Corey Burras sent then promising freshman Kaitlyn Pallozzi out to the circle for her first varsity game knowing she possessed lots of potential.
But what happened next is something that still amazes Burras and everyone else who witnessed it.
Pallozzi threw a no-hitter in that debut, striking out 14 batters for the Marlins. Oh, and it got better.
Three days later, Pallozzi struck out all 21 batters she faced in a 1-0 win over Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, becoming the 12th pitcher in state history to strike out at least 21 in a seven-inning game and the third to strike out at least 21 straight hitters.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been a part of a game like that, playing or watching,” Burras said. “It was magical to see.”
Magical would be a good way to describe the high school career up to this point for Pallozzi, who is now a senior and a solid contender to be throwing the final out of this year’s Division 1 championship at Secchia Stadium come June.
Going into the season opener Tuesday at Dearborn Divine Child, Pallozzi had a 57-4 record, 899 strikeouts and a 0.54 earned-run average in 372 2/3 innings pitched for her career.
Signed to play collegiately for Alabama, Pallozzi also is a .400 hitter in the heart of Mercy’s lineup.
But her pitching dominance is what’s been especially notable during her high school career, which is somewhat remarkable since she said she wasn’t full-time into the position until she was about 13 years old while playing travel ball.
“I did pitch, but just in the (travel) seasons, I was never put in (games),” Pallozzi said. “I played third base and first base. When I got to 13-U, I was put in more and I started developing. I had been working for it my whole life. I knew I always wanted to be a pitcher. I really worked over that winter and then coming into the summer, it really took off.”
Already with a good arm from playing third base, it didn’t take long for Pallozzi to master the craft of pitching, how to move the ball and change speeds.
“I always threw pretty hard,” she said. “My location was inaccurate. I had to work on locating, adding a changeup and also a rise ball.”
Burras said Pallozzi took her game to a whole new level last year in the midst of a tougher schedule, practically driving Mercy to a Semifinal berth.
While it might seem impossible, Burras said there definitely can be more improvement from Pallozzi this year as a senior, even as she is arguably the favorite for the Miss Softball Award.
“She drove our team to the best it could be last year,” Burras said. “What’s she’s working on is accepting the role and responsibility of being a leader on the team. Also, accepting the role and pressure of getting all this attention, which she doesn’t want. She wants to go out there and support her teammates, play great softball and get prepared for the next stage.
“The most improvement you’ll see is strength and size. She’s also working on the mental aspect of the game, knowing it’s OK if she gives up a hit and it’s OK if she’s not at her best.”
There haven’t been too many times in high school where Pallozzi hasn’t been at her best, but the one most notable occasion is what is driving her and the Marlins this spring.
Pretty much everything that could go wrong did go wrong in a 10-0 Semifinal loss to eventual Division 1 champion Hudsonville last year. With Pallozzi and all but two regulars back from that team and a roster filled with seniors, it’s no wonder Mercy is on top of the preseason coaches association Division 1 rankings.
“I think we are all fueled because of that game,” Pallozzi said.
As difficult as her debut three years ago has been to top, if Pallozzi and Mercy can celebrate a title in East Lansing, her last game of high school softball would be even more memorable than her first.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Farmington Hills Mercy’s Kaitlyn Pallozzi makes her move toward the plate during last season’s Division 1 Semifinal against Hudsonville. (Middle) Pallozzi, during a practice this spring.